Title

Author

Faculty Advisor

Camesano, Terri Anne

Center

Nancy, France

Abstract

The objective of this project was to investigate the effect that plasticizers had on starch and poly(lactic) acid blends. The type and ratio of plasticizers used was varied. Water, glycerol and citric acid were added to starch, which was plasticized and blended with PLA. After each step, the mixtures were characterized using DSC, GPC, SEM, IR spectroscopy and mechanical testing. It was determined that a 70/18/12 blend of starch/water/glycerol blended 50:50 with PLA had the best properties.

Publisher

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Date Accepted

April 2009

Major

Chemistry

Major

Chemical Engineering

Project Type

Major Qualifying Project

Additional files

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